Belezma

Belezma National Park was created in 1984 in the wilaya of Batna, in the Aurès massif, in north-eastern Algeria, and protects some 262 km².

Its value lies in its position: the Belezma cedar forest stands practically at the southern limit of the Atlas cedar's range, in the transition between the Mediterranean Tell and the pre-Saharan steppes. That makes these stands a laboratory for studying the species' response to increasing aridity, and also the most vulnerable: the episodes of prolonged drought of recent decades have caused mass cedar mortality on the massif, a documented phenomenon widely cited as an indicator of climate change in the Maghreb.

Alongside the cedar forest grow holm oak woods, Aleppo pinewoods and steppe scrub on the lower ground and the sunny slopes. The fauna includes Barbary stag, striped hyena, Cuvier's gazelle and a cliff-nesting birdlife with golden eagle. The Aurès also has a strongly marked Chaoui cultural heritage. Belezma was recognised as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2015.